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Living Maxwell

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Why Organic is a MUST for Women — Pesticides Linked to Lower Chance of Pregnancy and Higher Risk of Pregnancy Loss

Each year when the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases its “Dirty Dozen”  – the 12 most pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables that people should avoid – the major pesticide companies and their front groups launch a major PR campaign demanding that EWG stop publishing these annual lists, insisting that chemicals are not harmful.

The organic industry and health advocates completely scoff at these ridiculous claims. Furthermore, the State of California has declared that glyphosate, the most widely used chemical in the world and one that is routinely sprayed on our food supply, causes cancer.

And now we have a new report out of Harvard which reinforces the notion that pesticides can cause real harm, particularly for women.

According to a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, women undergoing infertility treatment in the U.S., who were consuming more fruits and vegetables with high amounts of pesticide residue, were associated with a lower chance of pregnancy and a higher risk of pregnancy loss.

Dr. Yu-Han Chiu, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and first author of the study, said,

“Most Americans are exposed to pesticides daily by consuming conventionally grown fruits and vegetables. There have been concerns for some time that exposure to low doses of pesticides through diet, such as those that we observed in this study, may have adverse health effects, especially in susceptible populations such as pregnant women and their fetus, and on children. Our study provides evidence that this concern is not unwarranted.”

Not surprisingly, when women switched to fruits and vegetables that had low pesticide residues, the odds of pregnancy and giving birth increased.

“Although we did find that intake of high-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables were associated with lower reproductive success, intake of low-pesticide-residue fruits and vegetables had the opposite association,” said Dr. Yu-Han Chiu.

IN SUMMARY

What this all points to is that when it comes to fruits and vegetables, pregnant women should be eating as much organic as possible.

And despite what chemical industry front groups have to say, such as The Alliance for Food and Farming and Safe Fruits and Veggies, pesticides can cause real harm.

A few things to leave you with:

1) If pesticides are causing these pregnancy problems for women and their fetuses, imagine the other problems that they are causing.

2) Even though this study was about women, men should not think that pesticides can’t cause them harm as well.

For men, pesticides have been linked to lower sperm count and quality.

3) If you are eating fruits and vegetables, even organic ones, you must use a fruit and vegetable wash.

The only one I use and recommend is from Vermont Soap Organics called Produce Magic.

A message from Tradin Organic

How Tradin Organic is Helping Coconut Farmers in The Philippines

For more than a decade, Tradin Organic has been working with local partners in The Philippines to bring a diversified range of organic products to the market, such as coconut oil, tropical fruits and even cocoa.

The company is helping to support local farmers by assisting them with technical support and organic certification, in addition to paying Fairtrade premium on top of the organic premium.

Learn more.

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Living Maxwell

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Should You ALWAYS Eat Organic?

Recently, I got a comment from a woman who felt guilty about feeding her kids pesticide-laden, conventionally-grown food and asked if she “should always feed them organic.”

As someone who is very passionate about organic, I am going to be biased about organic food, which should not come as a surprise to anyone.

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A message from E3Live

"My Everyday, Must-Have Green Organic Aquabotanical"

The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.

E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.

Learn more.

Living Maxwell

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Another Reason to Eat Organic – Arsenic, Caffeine, Antidepressants and Banned Antibiotics are Fed to Chicken

Last year, I put up a post about how arsenic was temporarily banned for use in conventional chickens.

Whether conventional chicken growers actually paid attention to the ban is anyone’s guess, but a column I read yesterday in the New York Times just made me shake my head even further.

In his column, Nicholas Kristof talked about recently released studies that suggest that poultry on factory farms are routinely fed caffeine, active ingredients of Tylenol and Benadryl, banned antibiotics and arsenic.

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Organic Insider

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Study Links Pesticides in Water to Food Allergies

Just the other week, I wrote about a California farming community that MUST buy bottled water because the tap water is so polluted from pesticides and other contaminants.

Well, the news about the horrid quality of our drinking water continues.

Trying to figure out why food allergies have exploded over the past 20 years, a team of researchers published a study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology which said that there is a relationship between the use of a group of pesticides called dichlorophenols and food allergies.

TIME Magazine explained that the study’s participants who had high levels of dichlorophenols in their bodies were 80% more likely to have food sensitivity than those with lower levels, and the authors believe the exposure to the chemicals may be contributing to a hyper-sensitive immune system that recognizes even common food proteins as foreign.

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